‘The Virginian’ should have kept ‘A Horseman of the Plains’ in the title

Admittedly, aside from hearing about his upcoming appearance at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, I was unaware of Trace Adkins. His main occupation is that of country singer, and those types of songs come out of my car speakers almost as often as do the soft-spoken but oh-so-intense voices of the announcers telling their oh-so-boring stories on noncommercial radio.

I’ve found that Adkins also has appeared on a few television shows and has had roles in a handful of movies. More interestingly, Wikipedia notes that in 1994, Adkins — a bear of a man who played football at Louisiana Tech — was struck in the heart and both lungs by a bullet fired by an ex-wife. (He didn’t press charges, the repository of all human knowledge says.)

Now let’s suppose that you wanted to do a motion-picture update of a 1902 American literary classic, Owen Wister’s “The Virginian” (which also is known by the totally awesome title of “The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains”). The story is set in late-1800s Wyoming, a rough world inhabited by rough men. Who better to cast in the title role than a big man like Adkins who’s not only had acting experience but also is intimately familiar with the sensation of being shot?

“The Virginian” that just came out on DVD is one of at least five movies that have been based on Wister’s novel. Probably the most-seen one is the 1946 version with Joel McCrea, although the 1929 effort starring Gary Cooper is well-known as an early talkie.

Also, between 1962 and 1971, NBC offered a television series VERY loosely based on the book starring James Drury that was called “The Virginian” (except for its final year, during which it became “The Men from Shiloh”).

Having grown up with a father who considered Westerns to be the ultimate form of entertainment, I got to wondering why we didn’t watch the program regularly. A quick look through TV schedules from the era shows that over the years, it was up against such classic offerings as “Wagon Train,” “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” “The Adventure of Ozzie and Harriet,” “Mr. Ed,” “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Lost in Space,” “Peyton Place” and “Batman.” It’s no wonder I like Me-TV.

In the newest movie, Adkins plays a man identified only as South or The Virginian. He’s a Confederate veteran of the Civil War who had been taken in as a youth by a ranching baron known as Judge Henry (Ron Perlman, famed for his roles of Clay Morrow in “Sons of Anarchy” and Vincent in “Beauty and the Beast”).

Living by the code instilled in him by the judge — that once you sign on with a ranch, you live or die for it — South basically is Henry’s enforcer: If there’s trouble, the judge expects him to deal with it. Current problems for the cattle baron include pesky farmers who think it’s their God-given right to fence off the open range that Henry needs for his stock to thrive.

Also, some of the judge’s cattle have vanished. Henry is quick to point an accusing finger at the agrarians and brings in a ne’er-do-well called Trampas (Steve Bacic) to “help” South. The Virginian is familiar with the newcomer’s unctuous reputation and doesn’t trust him.

South establishes his credentials as an upstanding, if somber, citizen by working to establish a new school. Enlisting the help of a writer, Owen Walton (Brendan Penny), who’s come to Wyoming to study the cowboy mystique, The Virginian composes a letter designed to attract a teacher, Molly West (Victoria Pratt). When the educator arrives in the rainy, depressing town, it’s obvious that she and South will become an item.

Between the addition of sleazy Trampas to the judge’s workforce and Molly’s constant carping about his violent occupation, South moodily smokes cigars and begins questioning whether the code he follows is the right one — particularly when it becomes more and more obvious that Henry’s personal rules are vastly different than The Virginian’s.

We find South’s misgivings are correct when Trampas shoots some innocent Native Americans getting water from a river, and then blasts The Virginian in the back through trickery.

Happily, in the end, truth, justice and the American way prevail.

Extras: If I weren’t so clever at stringing together sentences for the review section, this blog entry would be pretty short, because the disc offers only one “extra” — the standard “making of” video with the yawning title, “Behind the Scenes.” However, there’s a coming attraction for another Western titled “Dawn Rider” that looks pretty good. More cigar smoking! Masked riders! Donald Sutherland with a beard! What more could you want in a movie?

The bottom line: Despite dropping the best part of the book’s title, “The Virginian” is a truly excellent movie and Adkins does an outstanding job with his downplayed portrayal of a man who is being torn internally. I’d rate it a must-buy.